


Best We've Got

by vix_spes



Series: Who Says Double-0's Have All The Fun [3]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: BAMFs, Established Relationship, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9980279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: Upon his return to London and Q-branch, Bond isn't too happy to discover that his lover is missing again.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mightypretty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightypretty/gifts).



By the time that Bond made it down to Q-branch, the scene that he came upon could best be described as carnage. It seemed like every single double-0 was down there waiting to hand in equipment and, as R struggled to deal with things quickly enough for their liking, the keyed-up agents were threatening to descend into a mêlée. Knowing that Q would be most unhappy if that happened, and both not wanting to get kicked out of his lover’s bed for being present and curious as to where said lover was, Bond reached out and snagged the nearest minion by the collar of his t-shirt. Casting a look of disdain over the cartoon characters on the fabric (did Q really not enforce any kind of dress code down here?), he ignored the fact that the minion in question was quivering in fear and asked his question in what Bond thought was a perfectly reasonable, and not at all murderous, tone.

“Where’s Q? Has someone told him all of the double-0’s are here to hand in equipment?”

“The Overlord isn’t here. He hasn’t been here for a week; we don’t know where he is, just that he told us R was in charge until he got back.”

Bond shot a glance over to where R was steadily disappearing amongst irate double-0’s and noticed that someone else was missing. “Where’s Tanner? He’s usually here if things are busy down here.”

“The Chief of Staff isn’t here either; he’s with the Quartermaster.”

“And none of you are panicking?” Bond was remembering two previous occasions when he had come looking for his lover in his domain, only to find both Q and Tanner were missing and even, on one of those occasions, they had been kidnapped. Given that everyone was calm, with the exception of an increasingly stressed R, Bond could have thought that they were in a karaoke bar again but a week in one of those places was a little extreme.

“Why would we be?”

Fighting the urge to both ream the minion out and strangle him for being infuriating, Bond let go of the man-child’s t-shirt and allowed him to scurry away. Noticing that Moneypenny had made an appearance, meaning that Mallory was unguarded in his office, Bond cast one last glance around Q-branch before he made a beeline for the Executive offices and, he hoped, answers.

Even though he knew that Moneypenny was downstairs and thus not in her usual position as Mallory’s guard dog, Bond was cautious when he reached the Executive offices. After all, Mallory could be meeting with any number of people and there was a strong chance that Bond would want to avoid whoever Mallory was meeting with. As it turned out, he didn’t need to; the door to Mallory’s office was wide-open and, though he was as silent as a cat, he wasn’t silent enough.

“Don’t loiter outside like an errant schoolboy, Bond. Do come in; I was expecting you.”

Bond rolled his eyes. Sometimes he didn’t know which was worse; his M or Mallory. Either way, both of them existed to piss him off and try to curb his ways so he supposed they were both as bad as each other. Entering the office, he took note of the fact that Mallory was in his shirt-sleeves with the cuffs rolled up and took that as a good sign; if Q and Tanner were truly missing then Mallory wouldn’t be this relaxed.

“Where’s Q? Where’s Tanner for that matter?”

“They’re away. Taking care of business?”

Bond stiffened. “What kind of business? One of Q’s little minions said he hasn’t been there for a week. What kind of business takes the Quartermaster and the Chief of Staff away for a week?”

“The kind of business where a specific skill set was necessary and every single double-0 that I have was already out on a mission.”

Bond’s heart came to a juddering stop and he was on his feet, leaning over the desk and speaking right in Mallory’s face, voice full of barely contained rage. “You sent our Quartermaster, _my lover_ , on a mission intended for a double-0? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that, even with every single double-0 on British soil, Q and Tanner were still the best option that we had for this mission. Hell, they’re the best we’ve got full stop, especially if you take into account Q’s hacking skills and the fact that both of them have range scores equal if not better than the double-0 division. Trust me, I dislike sending them out as much as you but I didn’t have a choice; this needed to be dealt with now, time was of the essence. And stop trying to intimidate me; you don’t scare me, Bond. The only thing that scares me is Tanner’s wife if something happens to her husband.”

“And is something going to happen to her husband?”

“Not unless Q has a panic attack and manages to bring down the plane. They’ve completed their mission and currently on their way home; my Quartermaster and your lover should be back on British soil in approximately six hours. You could even be a gentleman and go and pick him up at the airport.”

“Hmm.” Bond still wasn’t convinced by the wisdom of Mallory’s decision to send Q and Tanner out into the field, regardless of what Mallory said and regardless of what Bond had seen of their abilities in the past.

“Bond, what’s done is done. They’ve completed the mission successfully. And, may I point out, with a lower body count, less explosions and less damage to both themselves and their surroundings than any of the double-0’s have managed. Q’s even returning with all his equipment. At that rate, and assuming Q now collaborates with medical for something to cure his aviophobia, I think we may even have the two of them volunteering for further missions; Bill has even looked a little relaxed at not having to deal with all of the bureaucracy he normally does. Still, that will be up to them. Now, was there anything else you wanted, Bond?”

“I don’t suppose you have video footage of their mission do you? Just for curiosities sake.”

Mallory’s attention was already back on the papers he was holding but, not taking his eyes from the page, he held out a memory stick that Bond reached out and accepted curiously.

“Watch it and learn, Bond. Watch and learn.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you would prefer to comment on LJ, you can do so [here](http://vix-spes.livejournal.com/274805.html) or on DW [here](https://vix-spes.dreamwidth.org/265903.html)


End file.
